2016 YEAR IN REVIEW - Independent Women's Forumpdf.iwf.org/YIR2016_Screen.pdfAshley B. Carter...

2016 YEAR IN REVIEW

LEGAL FELLOW Erin Hawley

FOREIGN POLICY FELLOWClaudia Rosett

SENIOR FELLOWSKarin Agness | Charlotte Allen | Vicki E. Alger, Ph.D. Rachel DiCarlo Currie | Krista Kafer Donna Wiesner Keene | Patrice Lee Onwuka Angela Logomasini | Jillian Melchior | Nicole Neily Naomi Schaefer Riley | Anna Rittgers Abby W. Schachter | Lisa Schiffren Amber Smith | Gayle Trotter

VISITING FELLOWS Jennifer Marsico | Lane Scott, Ph.D. Christina Villegas

IWF BOARD OF DIRECTORSYvonne S. BoiceKellyanne Conway (Leave of Absence)

Giovanna CugnascaThe Hon. Nan HayworthLarry KudlowAdele MalpassMyles Pollin

IWF LEADERSHIP CIRCLEMindy Berry | Elizabeth Biar | Kim Bolt Andrea Bottner | Susanna Dokupil | Windi Grimes Jennifer Higgins | Clark Judge | Claudette Lajam Kate Pomeroy | Janie Tisdale

Charlotte HaysDirector of

Cultural Programs

Hadley Heath Manning

Director of Health Policy

Lauren RubioDirector of Donor Relations

Julie GunlockCulture of

Alarmism Director

Ashley B. CarterDirector of Coalitions

Jennifer MarquezDirector of

Foundation Relations

Sekayi StephensGraphic Designer

Amber SchwartzDirector of Outreach

Somerlyn CothranSenior Vice President

of Development

Michele VogtDigital Director

Celia MeyerCommunications Associate

Sabrina SchaefferExecutive Director

Victoria ColeyVice President of Communications

Carrie LukasManaging Director

IWF STAFF

Heather R. HigginsChairman

INTRODUCTION 5

WOMEN AT WORK 6

PRESCRIPTIONS FOR HEALTH CARE 11

CULTURE OF ALARMISM 13

DOLLARS AND SENSE ECONOMICS 16

CULTURE AND EDUCATION 17

WOMEN AND POLITICS 20

2016 MAJOR EVENTS 21

REDEFINING FEMINISM 24

NEW SENIOR FELLOWS 26

MEDIA OUTREACH 27

FUNDRAISING 34

LOOKING FORWARD 35

TABLE OF CONTENTS

“IWF’s growth and success is a tribute to everyone who

recognizes that, for the freedom movement to succeed, we need

to reach more women and enlist them to our cause. And that’s

exactly why we have IWF.”—CARRIE LUKAS

52016 YEAR IN REVIEW#WOMENWORK • IWF.ORG

INTRODUCTION

Dear IWF Friends and Supporters,

2016 was a year like no other. But if this election year taught us anything, it’s that politics isn’t for the faint of heart. It is often impolite and personal—some have even described it as a contact sport. While this political divisiveness can be frustrating at times, I suspect our Founding Fathers would see things a little differently. They understood that a willingness to debate and disagree is a sign of a functioning, healthy democracy.

And through it all, IWF stayed focused on our north star—advancing sensible policies and ideas that would give more Americans the freedom to make the choices that work for them—in the workplace, the marketplace, the healthcare system, schools, and at home—and ultimately pursue their own vision of happiness.

I’m thrilled to report on all that we accomplished in 2016—from critical reports to essential commentary to thought-provoking events and shareable videos and graphics. IWF is proud to work with a tremendous network of researchers, policymakers, donors, and media, who share our mission to create a stronger and more prosperous future.

This is the critical role that IWF has played for a quarter of a century. We have served as the thought leader on the Right educating women about the virtue of limited government and pushing back on the narrative that society is hostile to women. And we accomplish this by using a reasonable tone, showing how they affect real people, and making use of solid facts and policy analysis.

At IWF we are optimistic about the future and about our ability to win the battle of ideas with women—we just need to continue doing the hard work and #WorkingforWomen in 2017 and beyond!

Thank you to our generous supporters—we look forward to another wonderful year ahead!

With tremendous appreciation,

Sabrina SchaefferExecutive Director

WOMEN AT WORK

6 2016 YEAR IN REVIEW#WOMENWORK • IWF.ORG

For years IWF has encouraged the conservative movement to increase engagement with women. We have urged partners on the Right to take gender differences more seriously and to engage women on issues that matter to them with messages that resonate.

In 2016, IWF proudly released Working for Women: A Modern Agenda for Improving Women’s Lives which offers an alternative vision of how conservatives can help create a better America. The agenda offers 20 substantive policy reforms in areas like economic opportunity and workplace flexibility, equal pay, child care, family leave, and retirement security. All of these policy reforms would help women—particularly those with lower incomes and who too often fall through the cracks—but without growing government.

IWF enlisted an advisory committee to help us identify key positive policy reforms so that, rather than just critiquing proposals from the Left, we could offer a vision of a better system built on the principles of limited government. The committee consisted of Brian Brenberg (The Kings College), Diana Furchtgott-Roth (Manhattan Institute), Randel Johnson (U.S. Chamber of Commerce), Tammy McCutchen (former administrator of the wage and hour division of the U.S. Department of Labor), Casey Mulligan (University of Chicago), Carrie Lukas and Sabrina Schaeffer (Independent Women’s Forum).

The initial launch of the Working for Women Report led to a great deal of attention from the conservative movement and the media. The Heritage Foundation invited IWF executive director Sabrina Schaeffer to contribute an essay on women’s economic progress that was included in the 2016 Culture and Opportunity Index. Additionally, The Washington Post invited IWF managing director Carrie Lukas to participate in an online symposium on the issue of family leave.

Print publications flocked to the new agenda. The Washington Post wrote an even-handed and balanced article on the issue of paid leave, highlighting IWF’s family

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Randel Johnson Tammy McCutchen

Sabrina Schaeffer

Casey Mulligan Carrie Lukas

Brian Brenberg Diana Furchtgott-Roth

workingforwomenreport.com/




leave proposal. This also ran in The Chicago Tribune. The left-leaning publication The Week noted that it would be “extremely easy to imagine elite Democrats coming around to the idea” of IWF’s proposal for Personal Care Accounts.

Carrie Lukas also coauthored an important article on daycare, making the case that government should provide more financial support to parents across the board, rather than further subsidize a daycare bureaucracy. The article in National Affairs was widely covered in the media and will continue to shape the debate about child-care policy. Other op-eds promoting the report appeared in Real Clear Policy, BOLD, Huffington Post, Forbes, National Review, The Blaze, Townhall, and Inside Sources. IWF’s senior fellow Hadley Heath Manning’s Inside Sources column was distributed to a syndicated network of over 300 state and local newspapers—including The Times and Democrat and The Muscatine Journal. Additionally, IWF op-eds offering an alternative to the Left’s faulty wage gap statistic and drive for more workplace mandates appeared in The Denver Post, New York Post, and New Boston Post. Additional publications highlighting the Working for Women Report included: The Washington Free Beacon, Red Alert Politics, and Washington Examiner as well as 30 other local and online news outlets.

What to Expect, one of the largest mom blogs with more than 13 million readers geared towards expecting and new mothers, featured the Working for Women Report and specifically focused on our paid leave proposals.

“The Independent Women’s Forum and Evolving Strategies undertook a research project to explore people’s understanding of the paid leave issue and tradeoffs of a variety of government proposals. This research reveals that most Americans understand that government proposals come with tradeoffs and are open to the message that too-good-to-be-true promises tend to be just that. And in fact, a conservative, market-based approach to the paid leave issues actually has greater support than the traditional liberal approach.”

—CARRIE LUKAS, Independent Journal Review, New Study: Paid Leave Policy Can Be A Winning Issue for Conservatives

www.whattoexpect.com/wom/pregnancy/0421/experts-want-you-to-save-for-parental-leave-the-same-way-you-save-for-retirement

www.whattoexpect.com/wom/pregnancy/0421/experts-want-you-to-save-for-parental-leave-the-same-way-you-save-for-retirement


Broadcast media reported on the agenda, as well. Sabrina sat down with Fox News correspondent Shannon Bream to discuss specific proposals in the report for a package on women voters that ran during Special Report and also aired on a number of local Fox affiliate broadcasts across the country. Sabrina later joined C-SPAN’s Washington Journal for a full hour to discuss the Working for Women Report. She also did a local news segment with ABC Washington Channel 7 News. IWF senior fellow Patrice Lee Onwuka joined PBS’s To The Contrary for a segment profiling the report.

The Working for Women Report has been cited by numerous radio hosts and shows. WAMC, Northeast Public Radio, a NPR affiliate released the report including audio from IWF’s press call, where we gave the press an advance copy before public release. Moreover, IWF spokeswomen joined over two dozen radio shows including nationally syndicated Bill Martinez, Bill Cunningham, and Rusty Humphries Shows, as well as Marc Cox Show, Ft. Wayne’s Morning News, Schilling Show, American Family Radio,

and regionally syndicated Vicki McKenna Show to detail why these policy reforms will encourage real workplace flexibility and job creation.

IWF continually strives to reach a younger audience. At the request of many supporters, IWF also released a college version of the report—Working for Young Women Report. In addition to amending some of the language and graphics, it includes a section on college tuition and student loans. IWF partnered with the Network for Enlightened Women (NeW) to ensure wide distribution among college students around the country. Carrie Lukas and NeW Director (and IWF senior sellow) Karin Agness recorded an IWF podcast on the new publication as well.

Please see the full Working for Women Report as well as the college version of the report at iwf.org.

A Report by The Independent Women’s Forum and the Network of enlightened Women

A Modern Agenda for Improving Millennial Women’s Lives

for

Young

https://www.c-span.org/video/?408126-3/washington-journal-sabrina-schaeffer-paid-family-leave

https://www.c-span.org/video/?408126-3/washington-journal-sabrina-schaeffer-paid-family-leave

http://workingforwomenreport.com/young-women.php

http://www.iwf.org


BRINGING THE WORKING FOR WOMEN REPORT TO CAPITOL HILL To accompany the Working for Women Report, IWF created the Working for Women Commonsense Commitment, a condensed version of the report. IWF asked lawmakers to support this vision for identifying limited government policies to advance women’s economic opportunity. At the end of 2016, an impressive 24 lawmakers had signed the Working for Women Commonsense Commitment including Sen. Deb Fischer (NE), Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA), Rep. Andy Barr (KY), Rep. Marsha Blackburn (TN), Rep. Susan Brooks (IN), Rep. Mike Coffman (CO), Rep. Barbara Comstock (VA), Rep. Carlos Curbelo (FL), Rep. Renee Ellmers (NC), Rep. Bill Flores (TX), Rep. Lynn Jenkins (KS), Rep. Mia Love (UT), Rep. Martha McSally (AZ), Rep. Luke Messer (IN), Rep. Kristi Noem (SD), Rep. Lleana Ros-Lehtinen (FL), Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY), Rep. Ann Wagner (MO), Rep. Jackie Walorski (IN), Rep. Mimi Walters (CA), Jan Angel (Washington State Senator), The Honorable George Allen and Mrs. Susan Allen, Karilyn Brown (Arkansas State Representative), Chris Taylor (Wisconsin State Representative), and Allison Ball, Kentucky State Treasurer.

In 2016, IWF was increasingly the go-to organization for getting policymakers up to speed on these issues and how to connect with women. In fact, after the Report’s release, House Education and Workforce Committee Republicans invited Sabrina to brief lawmakers on equal pay and paid leave policy concerns. Similarly, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) invited Sabrina to participate on two panels at her Women’s Summit in the spring of 2016. Sabrina moderated a panel of female lawmakers on key economic issues, and also had an opportunity to address the room about IWF’s recommended policies and share critical messaging work IWF conducted in this area. Sabrina also traveled to Richmond to speak at a women’s event hosted by Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA).

The Working for Women Report and the Commonsense Commitment have both proved to be fantastic ways to grow IWF’s relationships—particularly on the Hill and with other advocacy organizations.

Last spring Sen. Deb Fischer delivered a major address to the American Enterprise Institute, where she cited IWF’s research, noting “The Independent Women’s Forum recently conducted a study on what really matters to women when choosing a job…” “The survey shows what many of us already know. Every situation is different, and by providing more options, workers can determine how each can suit their own particular needs. Rigid mandates can actually hurt their ability to negotiate unique arrangements with employers. It also shows that while the demographics of the American workforce are changing, so are the needs and desires of American workers.”


MESSAGING KITS In conjunction with IWF’s Working for Women Report, IWF conducted academic-grade messaging research, which served as the foundation for a series of accompanying messaging kits on the key issues addressed in the report. These kits provide background information, fact sheets, commentary, our research, a video, and shareable data-point visuals; and they allow IWF to leverage our work as we share these best practices with our allies in the freedom movement, as well as lawmakers and staffers, and others in the policy community eager to communicate effectively on these critical issues.

WAGE GAP

PROVIDED BY THE INDEPENDENT WOMEN’S FORUM

Messaging Kit

INDEPENDENT WOMEN’S FORUM MESSAGING KIT: Wage Gap

Get the Facts

In the United States, the average working woman earns about three-quarters as much money as the average man. Left-leaning Feminist groups point to this statistic as evidence of sexism in the work force and have called upon the government to push measures to equalize pay for the two sexes. But importantly, discrimination in the work place is already against the law. An analysis of the wage gap shows that many factors other than discrimination drive differences in earnings. There is little that government can or should do to close this gap.

What Determines How Much Men and Women Earn?Many factors contribute to the wage gap, including choices women make about what to study, what jobs to pursue, and how much time to spend working.

• The average full-time female worker spends 7.81 hours per day on the job, compared to 8.3 hours for the average full-time working male. One would expect that someone who works more hours would also earn more.1

• Fifty-five percent of workers logging more than 35 hours a week are men. In 2007, 25 percent of men working full-time jobs had work weeks of 41 or more hours, compared to 14 percent of full-time women.2

• Men are more likely to work in dirty or dangerous conditions, and they suffer the overwhelming majority of workplace injuries and deaths.3 These additional risks often warrant higher compensation.

• College women tend to major in less remunerative fields of study because, according to research,4 they often consider “non-pecuniary” issues like parental approval and enjoyment of future

work when choosing a major, while their male colleagues are more concerned with salaries and status.

• When women take weeks, months or even years off from work to raise children, this reduces their earnings because their male counterparts often accrue more experience.

What Can Be Done—Or Should Be Done—to “Correct” the Wage Gap?

• Pay discrimination is already illegal in the U.S. Both the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 make pay discrimination illegal, and women can and do sue their employers when they feel they have been wronged. Only about 12 percent of job-discrimination plaintiffs win their case.5

• Other measures advanced under the name of “closing” the wage gap would come with substantial costs for women and the economy. For example, proposals to create rigid compensation guidelines for women and men would lead to less flexibility, more compliance costs, and shady judicial standards.6

• In the private sector, and in our families and communities, we can educate women about the tradeoffs involved in choices about college majors, areas of study, job selection, salary negotiation, and family formation. Armed with this knowledge, women will be empowered to make the decisions that are right for them, and will avoid the victim mentality that employers are out to shortchange women.

Are equal salaries really the best way to gauge women’s and men’s success? A better measure of success is whether women and men are


Q: Isn't it true that women only make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes?No. The 77-cent Wage Gap statistic comes from the Department of Labor, and it compares the median wages of a full-time working man with a full-time working woman. But this is like comparing apples to oranges. This number doesn't take into account the number of hours worked, the profession, the job responsibilities, or the educational or professional experience of the workers. When you control for these variables there is a much smaller wage gap—about 6 cents. Some economists say it’s as small as 3 cents.1

Q: Ok, well maybe the wage gap is smaller, but isn’t it because employers are discriminating against women?There are always going to be some bad employers out there, but widespread discrimination is unlikely the reason for the remaining wage gap. Women and men make different choices—from college major to work profession to time taken out of the workforce. And these choices have an impact on what someone earns. We know for instance that 97 percent2 of Early Childhood Education graduates are female while 77 percent3 of Chemical Engineering students are male. Even at top universities like MIT, female undergraduates gravitate toward the humanities, arts, social sciences, and philosophy, which lead to jobs that simply don't pay as much as those in male-dominated fields like computer science or engineering. Women may also be more reluctant to ask for raises and negotiate starting salaries, which is difficult to control for. The good news is that's something that we can help change

by encouraging our daughters to speak up for themselves and be comfortable talking about money.

Q: Well there must be something government can do to even the playing field?Actually there are already laws on the books that protect both women and men against baseless gender discrimination in the workplace. It’s already illegal to pay a male and female worker different amounts for doing the same job. Workers are protected under the 1963 Equal Pay Act and the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and women can and do file and win discrimination lawsuits. New laws, like The Paycheck Fairness Act, would not create equal pay. It would simply expand the definition of “wage discrimination,” making it far more costly to employ women by increasing the threat of lawsuits and uncertainty. It would limit the reasons employers could give for salary differences, making it easier for employees to file suits, but also making the workplace less flexible and making it nearly impossible for employers to tie compensation to work quality. While I absolutely condemn gender discrimination and believe we need to compensate all workers fairly, government is only going to get in the way.

Q: Well, if you don’t support equal pay legislation then what do you suggest we do to close the wage gap?There is a lot women can do to help themselves. If salary is the most important thing to a woman—and frankly the majority of women value

Question & Answer


OverviewThe Independent Women’s Voice (IWV) commissioned Evolving Strategies to test the effectiveness of messages related to the Paycheck Fairness Act (PFA) and the “War on Women” narrative.

ES executed a randomized-controlled, PocketTrial® message experiment to identify the impact of IWV’s anti-Paycheck Fairness Act messages in the context of the Progressive message on the PFA.

A PocketTrial quantifies the true impact of a message using a customized, double-blind, and fully controlled experimental design. It’s like a small-scale clinical drug trial, but it’s a message we’re testing.

Online survey respondents from a consumer research panel were randomly assigned to one of five conditions in a true experiment—four treatment groups and a control. All treatment conditions included the Democratic message; three treatment conditions also included IWV messages on the PFA.

We surveyed only pure independents and weak partisans—no strong Republicans or Democrats were included (a non-probability, opt-in respondent sample of 1,006 registered independent and weak partisans fielded May 24-29th 2012). Statistical analyses were then performed to identify significant treatment impacts.

Treatments• Control Group: No political message.

• Progressive Only: Respondents read only a comprehensive Progressive message in support of the PFA.

• Progressive & Choice: Respondents read a) a message explaining that women are already protected from wage discrimination, and differences in pay are caused by women’s choices, and b) read the Progressive PFA message

• Progressive & Economy: Respondents read a) a message explaining why the PFA would be bad for business, job creation and the economy, and b) read the Progressive PFA message.

• Progressive & Economy/Choice: Respondents read a) IWV’s “Choice” message, b) IWV’s “Economy” message, and c) the Progressive PFA message.

Key FindingsWhile the PFA debate increases support for the legislation, it actually appears to harm Democrats politically. Fighting the PFA is good policy and good politics.

• About two-thirds of women (66 percent) have never heard of the legislation.

• The vast majority of women (74 percent) agree at least somewhat that workplace discrimination is a serious problem; but this doesn’t necessarily mean they want more government regulation to “solve” the problem or that they will reward politicians even if they do support such action.

• When women hear both sides of the PFA argument instead of the Progressive argument alone, support for the PFA drops and

PFA Research Beating Back the Paycheck Fairness Act

The impact of pro and anti-PFA messageson weak partisan & pure independent voters

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE MESSAGING KITS FROM 2016Wage Gap Password: iwf_wagegapChild Care Password: iwf_childcarePaid Leave Password: iwf_paidleave

http://pdf.iwf.org/MessagingKit_WageGap.pdf

pdf.iwf.org/MessagingKit_ChildCare.pdf

pdf.iwf.org/MessagingKit_PaidLeave.pdf


PRESCRIPTIONS FOR HEALTH CARE

IWF continued to lead the charge for health care freedom in 2016. With dozens of op-eds, radio and TV interviews, an IWF policy focus, and five IWF-produced podcast interviews, we made the case for why individuals, families, doctors, and patients should be in control of health care...not the government. We explained, educated, and pushed back on ObamaCare. We made the case for entitlement reform and reform of the Veterans Health Administration. We argued against single-payer plans at the federal and state level. We pointed out, time and again, that health care is a personal issue, and women are better off when they are free to choose their own insurance plans and health care providers. We look forward to continuing this important work in 2017, and will be playing a leading role in explaining how women will benefit from repealing ObamaCare and replacing it with patient-centered reforms.

We are hopeful for major policy changes in this area.


IWF’s Health Policy Director Hadley Heath Manning was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in Law and Policy. Also, The Steamboat Institute named her its 2017 Tony Blankley Chair for Public Policy and American Exceptionalism.

“The Department of Health and Human Services just released data on premiums for Obamacare’s 2017 plans, and it’s not pretty. On average, premiums will increase 22 percent. It’s rate shock, but not shocking to those who’ve followed the news about financial losses and insurer exits in the increasingly dysfunctional Obamacare exchanges.”

—HADLEY HEATH MANNING,Washington Examiner, Biggest Losers From Obamacare’s Premium Hikes


IWF’s Culture of Alarmism (COA) program continues to educate women about how political activists misuse science and fuel fear of food, parenting, consumer products, and the energy sector. Fear based marketing (like that which we see used by the organic industry, environmental groups, parenting “experts,” and food activists) paves the way for more regulation, more taxes, and more onerous restrictions on businesses as well as individual choices and freedoms. COA writers use a mix of timely commentary, earned media, and events targeted at opinion leaders to help change the conversation and encourage a more rational approach to these issues.

This year, COA launched a new program designed specifically to reach mothers. The Reasonable Mom Project aims to help moms resist the constant barrage of false information that tells them everything sold in the marketplace is toxic and a potential killer and that parenting decisions should somehow be made by committee, rather than individually. With the use of easy-to-understand fact sheets on a wide variety of issues, the Reasonable Mom Project aims to reassure moms and guide them to better, more reliable, science- and evidence-based sources of information on health and nutrition, product safety, and parenting. The project also hopes to remind women to trust their instincts and ignore so much of the “expert” advice available on the Internet and on television.

In the Fall of 2016, IWF held an exciting Reasonable Mom event. IWF’s Julie Gunlock along with a panel of mom bloggers and writers sat down for an evening discussion of how to stay calm and find reliable information in today’s

CULTURE OF ALARMISM

“Zika, West Nile, Lyme, and other insect-transmitted illnesses pose serious risks, and DEET is among the best tools available to prevent their transmission. Expecting mothers—or anyone else—should not fear DEET and other EPA-approved pesticides as long as they follow the directions on the label. The real danger lies in remaining inadequately protected because of misinformation about DEET and other pesticide risks.”

—ANGELA LOGOMASINI, Huffington Post, The Best Possible Zika Prevention Kit Includes DEET


culture of alarmism. Gunlock was joined by Lenore Skenazy, founder of the Free Range Kids movement, freelance writer Bethany Mandel, and comedian and storyteller Jenny Splitter. It was a spirited discussion, with lots of laughter from the enthusiastic crowd. Panelists engaged with the audience who felt comfortable to participate in the discussion with their own stories. Audience members also asked many questions and received good feedback. The event was a success in that it reached the goal of reaching out to moms who have differing political opinions but agree that parenting should be left to the parents and that the government has become too involved in people’s individual decisions about how to raise kids. More events are planned for 2017.

The COA program also continues to focus on government overreach and overregulation. This year, IWF writers pushed back on state, local, and federal efforts to limit consumer choices through soda and sugar taxes, bans on certain ingredients in processed foods, mandated labeling laws for restaurants, and bans on GMOs and certain pesticides that farmers want to increase yield.

COA writers also continued to expose how environmental groups demand products be unnecessarily altered to remove safe and beneficial chemicals that keep products free of bacteria. IWF will continue to remind consumers that trace levels of chemicals used in food, personal care products, furniture, and other everyday goods make those products safer, more durable and less expensive.


Similarly, IWF pushed back on activist groups that tell the American public that the modern food system is broken. While there is always room for improvement, Americans shouldn’t overlook this good news: the modern American food system offers consumers safer, cleaner, affordable, more varied, and far greater access to food than ever before. In addition, farmers grow their crops in a more environmentally responsible way than ever before.

IWF will continue to use these issues as a conversation starter with women (and men) who tune out many policy or political topics but are concerned about the growing government intrusion in food, agriculture, energy, manufacturing, and in their own private parenting decisions.


Energy policy is a critical issue for our economy, and IWF’s senior fellow Jillian Melchior has been prolific in writing on the need for sensible energy policies that allow for much-needed energy exploration while still protecting the environment and our natural resources. Jillian exposes how radical environmental groups peddle fear-based messages and fuel the push for greater and greater regulation. These groups have been working in concert with the EPA, while the agency rewrites energy and environmental policy—most notably with the misnamed Clean Power Plan—which would have a devastating impact on our economy for minimal environmental gain. With fact-filled policy briefs and timely commentary (like Jillian’s Sacramento Bee column on EPA’s stringent smog rules and how they could suffocate economic opportunity), IWF is exposing how the Left misuses public concerns for the environment to stymie progress and energy initiatives that pose minimal risks and would be a boon to the economy and the American people.

IWF has also been working to highlight how other regulations—such as minimum wage laws and licensing regimes—backfire on people, particularly low-income workers who need to have access to the job market to build skills and gain invaluable work experience.

From tax reform to retirement policy and regulatory reforms, IWF will continue to bring these issues to life and demonstrate how these issues impact real people and how better policies can create a healthier, more prosperous, and stronger society.

DOLLARS AND SENSE ECONOMICS


In 2016, IWF continued our quarterly event series in Washington, which brought together a wide range of women and men eager to engage in conversations about our culture, economy, and state of political affairs. These quarterly events explore and illuminate tough and often complex and fraught issues of the day in a civil environment. We use these events to help people formulate ideas on issues and networking is also an essential component. In fact, our events have become a hub for young conservatives to meet each other and exchange ideas and IWF is very proud of this reputation. A brief description of our 2016 events follows. WOMEN FIGHTING ON THE FRONT LINES: WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR WOMEN, MEN, AND MILITARY PREPAREDNESS? (SPRING, 2016)It was a historic decision with potentially far-reaching effects when then-Secretary of Defense Ash Carter opened all positions in the military--including fighting hand-to-hand on the front lines--to women. The ramifications are enormous. Will having women on the front lines make the military stronger or could it weaken our national defense? Will women be held to the same physical standards as men? What about military culture?

To address these questions, IWF joined with the London Center for Policy Research to convene a well-attended panel on Capitol Hill. Roughly 150 attended and the level of intensity in the room and quality of questions from the audience were indications of how profoundly people want further discussion of this important issue. Panelists were Major General Bob Newman; IWF Senior Fellow

CULTURE AND EDUCATION

“The military is not meant to be a social experiment—it’s meant to win wars. I think that should be the baseline of whatever we think, whatever we do—it’s an important decision.”

—LT. COLONEL TONY SHAFFER, U.S. ARMY (RET.), IWF Women Fighting On the Front Lines Panel


Amber Smith, a former U.S. Army helicopter pilot; Gunnery Sergeant Jessie Jane Duff, U.S. Marines (ret.), a passionate opponent of women fighting on the front lines; and Katharine Kidder, Bacevich Fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-Ca) of the House Armed Services Committee, thought the event was sufficiently important to show up and serve as guest speaker. The panel was moderated by Lt. Colonel Tony Shaffer, U. S. Army (ret.), author, frequent TV commentator, and London Center Senior Fellow. We garnered a good deal of publicity on this panel and were widely praised for dealing with a hot button issue in a lively but civil atmosphere.

BOOK DISCUSSION: AN EVENING WITH IWF SENIOR FELLOW NAOMI SCHAEFER RILEY AND HER NEW BOOK (SUMMER, 2016)Naomi Schaefer Riley and Sabrina Schaeffer sat down for an evening discussion of Riley’s new book The New Trail of Tears: How Washington Is Destroying American Indians. Naomi’s book explores why the poverty and suicide rate of American Indians are the highest of any racial group and attributes their state to policies from Washington. She maintains that this has even wider relevance because it is a microcosm of how liberal policies affect the lives of millions of Americans. It was a spirited discussion, with questions from the audience, and when the evening ended, Naomi and Sabrina had presented a compelling argument for policies that encourage the free market over government planning

DOES THE MIDDLE CLASS HAVE A FUTURE? (FALL, 2016)The Middle Class is the backbone of our country, but there were disturbing signs by the fall of 2016 that it wasn’t faring well. Headlines proclaimed its death, or at the very least, that it was shrinking. What does it take to become middle class? Are there more barriers than ever before to becoming middle class? Are people slipping out of the middle class? We felt it was very important to talk about this issue, especially as we headed into a political campaign that would determine the future for working Americans

“American Indians are not a separate nation any more than blacks or Jews or Korean immigrants are. American Indians are American citizens. Which is no small thing, by the way. It means that regardless of your heritage or your parentage, you have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Unfortunately, the insistence of Native leaders on tribal rights—and the government’s attempts to accommodate them —is actually infringing on those individual protections for Indians.”

—NAOMI SCHAFER RILEY, New York Post, Protestors Should Be Fighting For Indians’ Rights As Citizens, Not The Tribe


for years to come. We assembled the best possible panel to speak on this pressing issue: Charles Murray, author of groundbreaking works on class and caste in the United States, including most recently Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010; IWF Managing Director Carrie Lukas, who writes extensively on economic and cultural issues; Scott Winship, Visiting Fellow at the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity (FREOPP) and former research manager of the Economic Mobility Project of the Pew Charitable Trusts; and Lisa Schiffren, journalist and former Dan Quayle speechwriter, who wrote Quayle’s famous “Murphy Brown Speech” (a landmark in the transitioning of middle class values). The audience came armed with questions. We were delighted by the number of young conservatives who came eager to engage this issue.

In 2016, IWF also focused on an issue that’s particularly important to millennial women: higher education costs. With a series of policy focuses and in our Working for Women Report, IWF highlights how ill-conceived government policy is fueling the exploding costs of college and how better policies can create a more dynamic, varied, and affordable higher education sector.

“This isn’t just a natural consequence. Part of the problem is government policy. For example, the policies that have been promoted to “help” the middle class like—greater student loan subsidies, and access to higher mortgages—have fueled the prices in these sectors leaving the middle class financially vulnerable.”

—CARRIE LUKAS, Managing Director, IWF - IWF Does The Middle Class Have A Future Panel


WOMEN AND POLITICS

IWF is consistently asked by media and outside groups to comment on the role women play in campaign trails and in politics and policy formulation more broadly. Sabrina Schaeffer spoke at Washington University on the topic of “Women in Politics” and also participated in a panel at Ponoma College as well as at the “Women of the World Festival” in Baltimore, MD. She appeared on stage with PBS’s Bonnie Erbe and Sam Bennett (of She Should Run) discussing women and politics.

IWF’s director of coalitions, Ashley Carter, was elected as the At-Large Member of the D.C. State Board of Education. She is the ONLY Republican elected to office in the District of Columbia. IWF consistently communicates the importance of civic duty and women in politics and we are proud to call one of our own an elected official!


2016 MAJOR EVENTS

WOMEN LEAD SUMMIT (SUMMER, 2016)As a thought leader among other women’s groups, IWF hosted our 2nd Annual Women LEAD Summit on June 2, 2016—an all-day function that focused on more than just our new Working for Women Report. With 24 speakers throughout the day, we had panels and speakers covering a wide range of issues and topics, including the future of the Supreme Court, Political Civility and the Character

of our Political Leadership, Free Speech and our College Campuses, and a LIVE radio show with NRA News focused on IWF’s Culture of Alarmism project and its costs on the American economy.

C-SPAN covered the full-day of events live, and we received additional coverage of the day in Heat Street, Red Alert Politics and Bold, publications geared specifically toward Millennials. The summit hashtag—#womenLEAD—was trending on Twitter throughout the day. Women joined us from Colorado to Georgia to New York.

IWF’S 3RD ANNUAL WOMEN LEAD

SUMMIT will be on MAY 16

in Washington, D.C.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!!


2016 ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER (WINTER, 2016)IWF honored Carly Fiorina with IWF’s tenth Barbara K. Olson Woman of Valor Award for her courage and tireless commitment to women, personal liberty, and political freedom. The award was presented at IWF’s 2016 Annual Awards Dinner, held Wednesday, November 30, at Union Station’s Columbus Club Palm Court in Washington, D.C.

In addition to presenting Fiorina with IWF’s highest award, IWF recognized Ed Gillespie with the Gentleman of Distinction Award and Cheryl Bachelder of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen as the Outstanding Woman in Business.

Over 300 people were in attendance, making it the largest Annual Dinner IWF has ever hosted. We are very grateful to the many generous sponsors of the evening.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

Independent Women’s Forum

Awards Dinner2016 Annual


THE 2017 ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER

will be held onNOVEMBER 15TH in Washington, DC.


REDEFINING FEMINISM

Shortly after Sabrina became executive director of IWF, she said to Carrie Lukas that IWF ought to profile women whose careers show that, contrary to what the left likes to maintain, American women have unprecedented opportunities—and that we are seizing these opportunities! The result of Sabrina’s observation is IWF’s Portrait of a Modern Feminist. A popular feature that showcases IWF values through mini-profiles of women who exemplify what we believe about the amazing women in America today. Portrait of a Modern Feminist is a not so subtle throwing down of the gauntlet to the Left that has appropriated the term feminist. We want to reclaim this word! We have profiled a wide variety of women who will interest and inspire the IWF community. We’ve profiled foreign affairs commentators, activists, authors, think tank leaders, economists, political candidates, members of the donor community, and even two make-up artists, who, launching their enterprise in a tough economic environment, embodied free-market aspirations. Portrait of a Modern Feminist is just another way to get the IWF message across—with a personal touch. It’s also a way we can recognize women we admire.

“Being a feminist to me means empowering women—and in the policy realm that means giving women the freedom to make the choices that work for them—whether in the workplace, the marketplace, or the home. And ultimately, increased liberty and economic growth are the best way to empower women (and men).”

—SABRINA SCHAEFFER, Executive Director, IWF Quote provided to Washington Post’s Vanessa Williams

25

OUR 2016 MODERN FEMINISTS INCLUDED

If you would like to nominate a woman to be featured as a

MODERN FEMINIST, please contact Amber Schwartz

at [email protected]


NEW SENIOR FELLOWS

IWF attracted great new senior fellows in 2016.

Claudia Rosett joined IWF as a senior fellow in foreign policy, and wrote groundbreaking articles exposing how the U.S government attempted to hide payments made to Iran as a part of the infamous Iran deal. Claudia has been a leader in exposing abuse and waste at the UN and will continue to use her foreign policy expertise for IWF.

Erin Hawley also joined IWF in 2016 as a Legal Fellow and has become an integral part of our team. She has helped us engage more on issues related to the courts. She produced monthly legal briefs and wrote numerous op-eds on current events such as the Supreme Court’s ruling on immigration. She filed an amicus brief in Zubik v. Burwell on behalf of the Little Sisters of the Poor arguing that the Affordable Care Act did not delegate authority to HHS to discriminate against religions. She also conducted media interviews and participated in IWF events. IWF is thrilled that she will continue her important work with us in 2017.

“...Treasury made 13 transfers of $99,999,999.99, with no mention of Iran in the Judgment Fund’s public listings. Had the stellar investigative journalist and IWF foreign policy fellow Claudia Rosett not discovered the transfers, we would probably still be in the dark about how Obama came up with the money.”

— ANDY McCARTHY, PJMedia on The Iran Deal and the Judgement Find


MEDIA OUTREACH

BROADCAST MEDIA IWF continues to strengthen our stand-out brand and influence our target audience through our strategic communications work and our presence across the media spectrum on a daily basis making the case for less government and greater economic liberty. By strategically bracketing the news cycle, rapidly responding to breaking news with statements and press calls, offering enlightening commentary online and in print, and appearing on a host of broadcast media outlets, IWF engages with the Americans public to highlight why liberty and limited-government provide opportunity for more Americans pursue their version of the American Dream . In fact, just about every day of the week in 2016, an IWF spokeswoman was on TV, radio, or published in a news outlet making our case.

In 2016, IWF spokeswomen appeared on more cable news shows than any previous year, breaking our 2015 record. This includes 132 interviews on news networks other than Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network. And, in addition to appearing on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, IWF’s Sabrina Schaeffer was schedule to join The Daily Show with Trevor Noah to discuss Title IX, however the segment ended up being put on hold.

IWF spokeswomen conducted a total of 476 television interviews reaching over 100 million viewers across the country in 2016. IWF’s total television airtime is valued at more than 51 million dollars. Moreover, IWF spokeswomen took our message to the state and local level and were on radio 359 times.


When IWF spokeswomen aren’t conducting broadcast interviews they are most likely writing enlightening op-eds or conducting phone interviews with reporters. We filed 705 op-eds, an increase of 128% over 2015.

Many of our staff have secured regular columns in publications like Forbes, National Review, Washington Examiner, Townhall, Heat Street, Red Alert Politics, The Blaze, Acculturated, New Boston Post, Acculturated, LifeZette and PJ Media. Additionally, in 2016 IWF opeds appeared in top outlets like Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, TIME, New York Post, Forbes, Fox News, National Affairs, New York Sun, Newsweek, US News & World Report, and state and online publications like Orlando Sentinel, Denver Post, The Detroit News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Quad City Times, Sacramento Bee, San Diego Union-Tribune, The Times & Democrat, National Review, The Federalist, Independent Journal Review, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Huffington Post, CapX, and LifeZette. IWF opeds continue to be picked up and featured on The DRUDGE REPORT, Real Clear Politics and Real Clear Policy, Instapundit,

and HotAir. IWF remains a frequent contributor to Inside Sources, a syndicate network with over 300 state and local papers.

Moreover, exceeding years past and equally important, IWF spokeswomen were cited 775 times, a 116 percent increase over 2015, including quotes in The Atlantic, National Journal, Newsweek, CBS News, CSPAN, FoxNews.com, MSNBC.

http://MSNBC.com


com, Salon, Slate, Washington Post, Politico, Time, The Guardian, New York Post, U.S. News & World Report, and Yahoo News to name a few.

IWF continues to make a concerted effort to expand our reach to women who may not be politically engaged. We actively target non-political media outlets like Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Marie Claire, The Wrap, What To Expect, and Mashable.

In 2015, IWF launched our Working for Women Podcast series featuring IWF spokeswomen discussing key policy topics with guest analysts. In 2016, IWF launched The Bespoke Parenting Hour Podcast featuring IWF’s Julie Gunlock and NRA News Cam Edwards, host of Cam & Co., to discuss the latest parenting trends, alarmism and more. Much like a radio interview, these podcasts aim to break down complicated policy issues into easily comprehended facts. Our spokeswomen debunk the common misrepresentations presented by progressives and explain the benefits of better economic policies.

To date we have produced over 70 EPISODES reaching an audience of THOUSANDS through iTunes, YouTube, and SoundCloud.

http://MSNBC.com


SOCIAL MEDIA Social media continues to be a powerful tool to amplify our stand-out brand, unique messages, and reach IWF’s target audience. We use a variety of social media platforms to reach women, specifically to expand our reach to women who may not be politically engaged but who ought to be sympathetic to our free-market message. In 2016, IWF joined Snapchat, where there are over 100 million daily active users, and over 60 percent of American smartphone users between the ages of 13 and 34 use the platform. In light of the number of Americans who use the service to consume news and share with their friends, IWF has now joined Snapchat to engage this broad cross-section of the population in new and creative ways.

IWF’s overall social media exposure has grown immensely from 2015 to 2016. In 2016 we generated 52.7 million organic impressions (77% increase over 2015) (the number of times a tweet was delivered to a particular account’s Twitter or Facebook stream), had 612 thousand engagements (a 224% increase over 2015) (the number of times social media users interacted with IWF posts—share, like, commented, retweeted), and nearly quadrupled the number of times a link shared in a post was clicked (50 thousand in 2015 to 236 thousand in 2016).

Through our growing social media network—now reaching a combined following of more than 335 thousand Americans (a 90% increase over 2015)— on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Snapchat—we stretch and strengthen our reach by applying popular hashtags (used to identify messages on a specific topic) to our posts. The use of hashtags helps generate a higher volume of social media activity that reaches beyond our following. For example, anyone who searches #wagegap, #paidleave or #womenintheworkplace will find IWF’s unique sharable graphics and pithy posts.

Our digital team continues to think creatively to construct sharable visual representations that promote our stand-out brand and mission on a daily basis to engage our social media audiences. In 2016 IWF designed 550 thought provoking, eye-catching, informative graphics to bring issues alive.

Our continually growing social media presence provides IWF the opportunity to counter progressives at any time, steer the conversation on key issues, build relationships with influentials, and reach audiences we may not have otherwise.

In 2016, IWF joined Snapchat, where there are over 100 million daily active users, and over 60 percent of American smartphone users between the ages of 13 and 34 use the platform. In light of the number of Americans who use the service to consume news and share with their friends, IWF has now joined Snapchat to engage this broad cross-section of the population in new and creative ways.


Congresswoman Diane Black (R-TN) tweeted about joining IWF to discuss helping women through tax reform to her 15.7 thousand Twitter followers, Congresswoman Mimi Walters (R-CA) expressed how thrilled she was to work with IWF to help expand opportunity and empower women. Following IWF’s Annual Awards Dinner, Ed Gillespie pointed to IWF as the distinct voice making clear that all issues are women’s issues; a tweet that reached over 32.6 thousand Americans.

IWF staff and fellows have used Facebook Live to boost engagement and inspire and ignite our Facebook fans. Streaming is now a dominate tool in the social sphere as ways the public can access brands and it gives IWF the opportunity to create a better brand experience and new ways to share our information.

CHECK OUT MORE GRAPHICS FROM 2016

pdf.iwf.org/2016_IWF_Graphics.pdf


THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD, CHILD CARE PROBLEM“[U]niversal paid leave is a terrible idea, but I recognize that most women are working not because they have some intellectual itch to satisfy. It is because they have bills to pay,” says Sabrina Schaeffer, the group’s executive director. “We need to really take that seriously and come up with alternatives.”

DEMOCRATS FACE UPHILL BATTLE ACHIEVING EQUAL PAY Carrie Lukas, managing director of the conservative Independent Women’s Forum, however, said she’s concerned that an outright prohibition could wind up hurting prospective employees.

“I’m concerned about it,” she told CBS. “I think telling employers they can’t ask that question, it’ll put some people at a disadvantage. Being willing to work for less is a selling point for some candidates and instead of having that option and [allowing an employee to say], ‘Let me get my foot in the door and get started at less than the other guy,’ [the employer is] going to say, ‘Okay, I’m going to take the guy with the most years of experience.’”

She added, “Creating all of these regulations and preventing people from seeking information isn’t going to stop bad behavior necessarily.”

THE PLIGHT OF CONSERVATIVE FEMINISTSFiorina adds a different conservative voice to an election season currently dominated by Trump. “One of the concerns that many people have about Trump is: What is the Republican Party going to look like at the end of this election?” said Carrie Lukas, the managing director of Independent Women’s Forum, a conservative advocacy group. “It’s really important for people to be out there saying, ‘Here’s [what] I think conservatism means, this is what I think women ought to be considering, and why I think Hillary Clinton doesn’t do any of these things … [It could be a way] to keep the idea of what conservatism means alive, regardless of where Trump comes out on some of this stuff.”

CHIPOTLE’S FOOD-SAFETY WOES? DON’T EXPECT SYMPATHY FROM REST OF INDUSTRYThe conservative Independent Women’s Forum, which frequently opposes what it sees as overregulation of business, applauded the FDA’s investigation of Chipotle. The director of the IWF’s Culture of Alarmism Project, Julie Gunlock, wrote that “Chipotle needs to rethink its business practices, which include working alongside food alarmists, anti-GMO activists, the organic food industry, and other modern food system critics to frighten, distract and misinform the American public.”

QUOTES IN TOP PUBLICATIONS


OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES PAID LEAVE FOR GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS— AND A NEW POLCY TO ADDRESS PAY DISPARITIESCarrie Lukas, managing director of the Independent Women’s Forum, a right-leaning think tank in Washington, D.C., said workers will ultimately absorb the bill. “We recognize that all Americans—men and women—need to take time off from work to address personal matters,” she said in a statement Thursday, “But there are tradeoffs between more benefits and take-home pay. Some workers may prefer having more money in their paychecks rather than guaranteed paid time off.”

MORE GRANDPARENTS BECOME CAREGIVERS FOR GRANDKIDS. IS THAT GOOD?“A strong case can be made that parents deserve tax relief to ease the financial strain associated with raising the next generation,” writes Carrie Lukas, managing director of the Independent Women’s Forum, in an opinion article for The Federalist. “But focusing that support solely on those who use formal daycare programs would be unfair to the millions of parents who have different preferences for their families.”

IT’S LIKE A RETIREMENT ACCOUNT BUT FOR MATERNITY LEAVEThe recommendation is part of a bundle of family-friendly policy proposals from the Independent Women’s Forum, a right-leaning think tank in Washington. Such a report is rare, because Democrats have traditionally focused on the struggles of working mothers and because Republicans have long argued that boosting the economy will boost everyone. But liberals shouldn’t continue to dominate the discussion, said Sabrina Schaeffer, IWF’s executive director. Republican lawmakers ignore reality when they gloss over parents’ needs, she said, and it’s also a political blunder to let one side own an increasingly hot issue. “We’re responding to the progressive feminist and Democratic ideas about how to best help women in the workplace,” Schaeffer said. “We want to recognize that people’s lives aren’t static and give them flexibility.”

HILLARY, THE CANDIDATE OF WOMEN—AND HYPOCRISYIWF’s Sabrina Schaeffer added, “Of course it’s well-known that the ‘wage gap’ is grossly overstated. And voters ought to be reminded that while Hillary Clinton will frame this discussion in terms of protecting women, she is pushing for legislation that will ultimately increase the cost of employing women and limit women’s choices and success.”


FUNDRAISING

Thanks to our generous supporters, IWF exceeded its annual fundraising goal in 2016 raising nearly $2.9 million. IWF is proud of the support that we receive from a variety of foundations, individuals, and corporate partners. Notable funders include The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Diana Davis Spencer Foundation, Federalist Society, Sarah Scaife Family Foundation, Donald and Paula Smith Family Foundation, and Randolph Foundation.

In 2017, we are making a concerted effort via personal meetings, direct mail, and online appeals to expand our individual base of support to better diversify our donation revenue sources.

IWF’S DONATION SOURCES

l BUSINESS

l FOUNDATION

l INDIVIDUAL


LOOKING FORWARD

We hope from reading this report that you will see the importance of continuing to support our work. We are so grateful. Please be sure to check out our website to see all of our latest publications, commentary, and media hits, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter so you can see what we are up to.

If you have any questions or would like more information about this report or any upcoming plans, please contact IWF’s director of outreach Amber Schwartz at [email protected] or (703) 304-2046.

THANK YOU. Sincerely,

Sabrina, Carrie, Victoria, Celia, Michele, Sekayi, Somerlyn, Amber, Jennifer, Lauren, Ashley, Julie, Hadley, and Charlotte

mailto:[email protected]

Independent Women’s Forum1875 I Street NW, Suite 500

Washington, DC 20006

IWF’s mission is to improve the lives of Americans by increasing the number of women who value free markets and personal liberty.

“In the end what will unite us is a shared commitment to liberty and policies that

open up freedom and economic opportunity for more Americans. And that’s where IWF

is making a monumental difference.” —SABRINA SCHAEFFER

IWF.ORG/DONATE

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